God's Voice

James Alexander Langteaux knows God’s voice. He often talks about the “road trips” God directs him to take. And during these road trips, God speaks to him very clearly about specific areas in his life that need attention. You can read about his adventures in the two books he’s written: God.​com and God.​net.

Someone else knew God’s voice extremely well. You can read his story in 1 Kings 18 and 19. After Elijah defeated 450 prophets of Baal, he fled his enemies and ran to the mountains. While waiting for God to speak to him on Mount Sinai, a lot began to happen around him. He experienced a tornado, an earthquake, and a fire.

Elijah had gone to the mountains specifically to hear God’s voice. We tend to think that when God speaks his voice thunders through something big . . . such as thunder or fire or a stormy blast of wind. But Elijah sat through all those natural disasters and didn’t hear God’s voice at all. As he continued to wait for God to speak, he finally heard the faint rumblings of a whisper. The Bible tells us when Elijah heard that whisper, he knew it was the voice of God.

We often wish God would speak to us through a heavenly e-mail or phone call. But most of the time when he speaks, his voice comes in a still, small whisper from within.

Chances are, when your mom calls you, she doesn’t have to identify herself. “Honey, this is your mother calling. Remember me? I’m short with dark hair. . . .”

You probably recognize her voice as soon as you hear the first syllable of her first word on the other end of the phone line. Guess what! God wants you to know his voice that well, too! He wants you to be so tuned in to him that if you’re caught in the middle of downtown traffic amid the blaring of horns and screeching of tires, you’ll still hear his whisper if he chooses to speak.

If God speaks to you at school, right in the middle of shuffling feet, hallway clatter, and campus chit-chat, will you be so tuned in to his whisper that you’ll hear his voice?

Elijah was. James Langteaux is. And you can be, too.

Know It!

If you think God never speaks to you, you’re mistaken. He’s speaking . . . but it could be that you simply haven’t learned the sound of his voice. We’ll talk more tomorrow about how to recognize God’s voice.

Read It!

Deuteronomy 30:19-20; 1 Samuel 15:22; 1 Kings 19:11-13

Pray It!

Tell God you want to be tuned in to him, and ask him to teach you the sound of his voice.

©Tari Esther Opute